The Shapeshifter
by Jaimee2014
Summary: Book 3 of The Adventures with the Doctor: An old foe returns determined to capture the TARDIS. With the Doctor dying, it is up to Nicole to save the day with help from the Strategic Response Unit.
1. The Message

It was a beautiful summer day as Nicole was walking back home from Rotary Park near Lake Ontario. She had an amazing afternoon with four of her friends from high school catching up on their lives by having a picnic at the park. Nicole was walking along the paved path past her old elementary school when she saw the TARDIS beside the pine tree right near the street she lived on. She quickened her pace and jogged towards the TARDIS. She was about to knock on the door when she remembered that the Doctor gave her a key the last time she saw him which was two days ago. Nicole inserted the key and knocked on the door as she entered. "Hi Doctor!"

After entering the TARDIS, Nicole stopped in her tracks and looked around. The interior looked completely different from before. The walls still had a golden colour, but there were different levels of stairs in the console room. There were two stairs leading up to the control console, a set of stairs heading up towards a hallway, and a set of stairs heading down below the console. Nicole muttered, "I wonder what happened to the coral interior." She called out, "Doctor, where are you?" Nicole did not see him at the control console so she went down the stairs to see if he was fixing on any parts of the TARDIS. After seeing no sign of him, she called out, "Doctor, are you in here?" Hearing no response, Nicole walked up the steps wondering what happened to the Doctor.

She walked towards the control console to see if the Doctor had left any signs of his whereabouts. Once she was on the platform, she heard an automated voice, which said, "There is a recognized life sign on board. Please listen to the recording carefully since it will repeat once before it is deleted." A hologram of the Doctor appeared, but it was not the same Doctor as before. _The Doctor must have regenerated._ He had short, dark brown hair though it was a bit longer than the other Doctor was. His hair was slicked towards the right and he had brown eyes. The Doctor was wearing a brown tweed jacket, a red bow tie, suspenders, black trousers, and ankle-high boots.

"Hi Nicole! This is the Doctor speaking. You may not recognize me since I have regenerated since you last saw me. If you are viewing this message that means I am in trouble to the point where I may die. I have been tracking down a shape shifter from a species called the Gwanzulum. They are from a planet called Adeki, well they are stranded there, but I won't delve into their history. The Gwanzulum have large monstrous heads with muscular, stubby arms and legs. They take the form of individuals from other people's memories through telepathy. For example, if one of the Gwanzulum was targeting you, they can take the shape of one of your family members or friends and it will be very difficult to tell who is real. They are like parasitic energy leeches who drain the life force of their targets and kill them at the end. I have been following a woman who has been the target for the Gwanzulum. That is all I can tell you so the rest is up to you. You can find a picture of the woman taped to the control console. She has a medium dark complexion with hazelnut eyes and long black hair. When you try to find me, be careful of trusting people you encounter since it may be a shape shifter. I am sorry you don't have a lot to go on, but I know you can do it. Good luck!"


	2. The Source

After the message deleted itself, Nicole stood in silence for a minute trying to grasp what the Doctor just said and wondered how she would find him. _Might as well start with identifying who this woman is. I have a source I can go to in order to find out the identity of this woman_. Nicole took the picture of the woman off the console, walked out of the TARDIS, and locked the door behind her. She took the train to Toronto and walked to the Metropolitan Police force. After entering the building, Nicole went down a flight of stairs to the Strategic Response Unit (SRU). She walked up to the desk where Winnie was typing on the computer.

"Hey Winnie! Is there anyone from Team One I can talk to? I need to find out who this woman is."

"It's good to see you again, Nicole. Sarge is coming this way so he will be able to help."

Sarge smiled and said, "Nicole, we miss having you here! How can I help you today?"

"Good to see you Sarge! I was wondering if you could tell me who this woman is. A friend of mine has gone missing, and this was the last thing he was working on."

"We have a few databases we can use to run this photo through. Let's go get Spike since he can help us identify this woman."

As they walked down the empty hallway, Nicole asked, "Where is everyone? It is so quiet in here."

"The rest of the team is out on rounds so you caught the two of us in time since Spike and I were about to head out on the streets."

They walked past the workout room and entered the gun cage where Spike was controlling his robot. "Spike, guess who came down to visit us?"

Spike turned around and grinned when he saw the woman with Sarge. "Nicole! It's good to see you again!"

"It's good to see you as well Spike! I see you still got Baby Cakes. How is she doing?"

"Baby Cakes is doing a lot better now. I took out a few kinks so she can go out in the field again," said Spike grinning as he patted the robot's head.

"That is good news! Sarge mentioned you can help me identify who this woman is," Nicole said smiling, but with a look of sadness in her eyes as she handed him the picture.

Spike, who knew her well from working together on Team One, knew something was wrong. "I will get on it right away, but let us know if there is anything we can do to help you."

"Thanks Spike. I will be fine once I find my friend again. By finding who this woman is, I will be one step closer to finding the Doctor." Spike walked over to the closest computer and scanned the photo to search for any matches on the databases. While the three of them waited for the results, they caught up on what was happening in their lives. "Tell me what has been going on here since I left a couple of years ago?"

Sarge answered, "Today is my last day before I retire. Ed will be taking over the role of Sergeant and Sam will be the new Team Leader."

"You must be both excited and sad of entering this new stage in life."

"It will be difficult adjusting at first, but I will enjoy it. However, it won't stop me from visiting my old team here at SRU."

Before Nicole could speak, the computer made a beeping sound showing that it found a match. "Let's see what the results show," said Spike as he turned back towards the computer. "Her name is Abigail Summers and she is a fitness instructor at GoodLife Fitness in Ajax."

"Can you provide me the address of her workplace and her home address as well?" "

The address for Good Life is 314 Harwood Avenue South and Abigail lives on 37 Love Crescent in Ajax."

"Thank you for helping me Sarge and Spike. I greatly appreciate it!" "

You're welcome! Hope you can find your friend. Let us know if we can be of any help," said Sarge just as an alarm went off.

They heard Winnie's voice over the P.A. system saying, "Team One, hot call! Shots fired at the Royal Ontario Museum!" Sarge said to Spike, "Let's suit up! The rest of Team One will meet us there."

Spike got up and before he went to get ready, he asked Nicole, "How about you come with us for one last call, just for fun?"

"I wish I could Spike, but if I cannot find my friend he will die. Maybe next time."

"Come on Spike! There is no time for chitchat now! Remember we are here to"

"Protect the peace!" said the three of them at the same time and laughed afterwards.

They all said their goodbyes and Nicole watched as Sarge and Spike exited out of the building. _Guess it is time to head back and solve the mystery of Abigail and the missing Doctor_. She said goodbye to Winnie on her way out and took the train back to Ajax.


	3. The Mysterious Substance

Nicole arrived at the Harwood Plaza where the GoodLife Fitness Centre was located. "I don't have the psychic paper since the Doctor is not here so I will have to do things the fun, but hard way. Hmm… how can I go in undercover? Ah! I know what I can do! I can go in as a potential member and sign up." She walked up to the fitness center, went through the doors, and approached the main desk. There was a woman in her early thirties with auburn hair and green eyes talking on the phone. The woman signaled Nicole to indicate she would be one minute. Nicole waited at the desk and noticed that her nametag read Lucy.

"Have a good day Mr. Patterson!" Lucy hanged up the phone. "Sorry about that. How can I help you today?"

"Hello, my name is Nicole and I am interested in signing up as a member here at the gym."

"That's great Nicole! All you have to do is fill out these forms. You have a 3-day pass so you can decide by the end of the three days whether you want to become a full-time member or not."

"Sounds great!"

"How did you hear about us?"

"A friend of mine recommended this gym and the fitness classes led by Abigail Summers. When does her next class start?"

"We have been using a substitute instructor for Abigail's classes since she has not been here the past couple of days. I will let you know when Abigail returns."

"Okay. Thank you." After finishing the paperwork, Nicole drove back home and had a quick dinner before heading over to Abigail's house to find out why she was missing work.

Nicole walked over to Abigail's house, which took about fifteen minutes. She walked up to the door and knocked four times. Hearing no response, she tried knocking again. _There must be someone home since there is a car in the driveway_. She peered into the window that was located by the door. Inside, she could see a hardwood floor and the walls in the hallway were lined with photos of Abigail with either friends or family. Then, Nicole noticed something out of the ordinary. On the floor, she noticed a pile of white bones and a skull right beside the pile. She took out her phone and dialed 911.

"What is your emergency?" asked the operator.

"Someone was murdered at 37 Love Crescent. I think it may be Abigail Summers since I was just visiting her house to ask her a few questions. When she did not answer the door, I looked inside the window and found a pile of bones."

"Some police officers will be there shortly. Stay at the residence so a police officer can take your statement."

Nicole put her cellphone away and waited for police officers to arrive. About ten minutes later, two police cars arrived along with an unmarked van, which she assumed was the forensics team. The first officer Nicole saw getting out of the vehicle was Officer Gordon.

When Officer Gordon looked up and saw her, he grinned and said, "Miss. Hughes! What a surprise! You must have been the one who called 911."

"Yes I did."

"Where is the Doctor? Is he here with you?"

"No, he has gone missing. I have been trying to find him by tracking down what he was last working on which led me to Abigail. If she is the skeleton inside that house, then I am at a dead end. Hang on… what are you doing in Ajax? I thought you were an officer in Toronto."

"Ever since that incident with the Adversus Monstrum, I have been promoted to detective in order to solve strange and peculiar cases that may involve alien life. My work involves a lot of travel."

"Congratulations on your promotion Detective Gordon! I am guessing you are here because it makes little sense of how Abigail's body can decay in a couple of days with no sign of flesh, just bone."

"That is correct Miss. Hughes. So far, there have been two other cases just like this one. We have found a peculiar substance from the two cases, but we have no clue what it is. All we know it is not part of the victim but of the perpetrator if he or she is human."

They heard one of the forensic technicians shout from the inside, "Detective Gordon! You should come and see this!"

"Come along Miss. Hughes! Maybe you can help solve what the mysterious substance is."

"Sure and maybe if I know what this substance is, I'll be one more step closer to finding the Doctor."

Nicole followed Detective Gordon into the house and approached the set of remains. She was a bit overwhelmed by the stench of the decaying body to the point where she almost threw up. "I guess this is your first time seeing a fresh dead body," smiled Officer Gordon when he saw her cover her mouth. She nodded as he continued to speak, "From my experience, you never get used to seeing a dead body. Ah, here is the strange substance." Officer Gordon knelt down, brought out a cotton swab and took a sample of a brown, sticky substance. Nicole also knelt down beside him to get a closer look at this mysterious substance. He said, "This is the one thing that boggles the whole forensic team. We cannot find this substance in any of our databases. This substance is not found anywhere on Earth. Just wish Sherlock did not leave Canada a few weeks ago otherwise we could use him on this case."

The mention of Sherlock peaked her interest, so she turned towards Officer Gordon. "What brought Sherlock to Canada?"

"It was a case he was working on in London that led him to a culprit who was smuggling drugs from London to Toronto. Getting back on track, what is your take on this substance?"

Focusing her mind on the task, Nicole inspected the substance. "This reminds me of something I can't put my mind to. Something I have read about." A few minutes later, Nicole knew what the substance reminded her of. "I don't know what this substance is, but if the substance was clear and sticky, it would be morphic residue."

"What in the world are you talking about?"

"Well, morphic residue is a fluid that gets left behind from certain species when they shape-shift into something else because it is part of their genetics. For example, the Doctor encountered a species called the Vespiforms, which is a race of giant wasps. However, they can become human since it is part of their DNA to shape-shift. However, this brown fluid is not morphic residue." Nicole took a sample of the brown fluid and smelled it. She turned her face away from the smell. "Well, I know who caused this fluid, and it is the Gwanzulum. They can only shape-shift only if they have a telepathic link with someone and feed off that person's life energy until they are dead. When the Gwanzulum changes into someone else, their original bodies produce this brown excrement. I assumed that happens. I won't know for sure until I can find the Doctor. Can I keep a sample of this for further testing? Maybe it can help me find the Doctor."

"Sure, you can Miss. Hughes. Hope you can find him soon. Before I forget, here is my card if you need to reach me if you have questions about this case that will help assist you in your search for the Doctor." They both said their goodbyes and Nicole headed off towards the TARDIS hoping to find answers.


	4. The Surprise

Nicole entered the TARDIS and walked up to the control console where the scanner was located. She turned knobs and pressed buttons on the scanner but it only allowed her to view outside the TARDIS.

"Great… I have no clue how the scanner works. He must have the alien tracking device he used to track down the Adversus Monstrum."

She went down the stairs to the lower level and ducked her head due to the low ceiling. The TARDIS continued to hum and emit a greenish blue light as Nicole scanned the lower level. She spot a wooden chest on the other side. Nicole opened the chest expecting to find the device, but instead saw other objects. These included a book by Agatha Christy, a mannequin's head from the Nestene Consciousness and many more gadgets and alien objects. She closed the lid without seeing any sign of the device and realized the device must be inside the Doctor's coat pocket or somewhere in his vast ship. She dejectedly walked out of the TARDIS, closed the door, and sank to the ground at lost for what to do next. as if she had no hope in finding the Doctor.

She sat there for an hour when she heard a voice called out, "Hey Nicole! Surprised to see me? I hope you haven't given up hope yet."

Nicole looked up and saw the Doctor standing right in front of her. "Hang on, how could you be here? How did you escape from the Gwanzulum?" she asked in shock.

"Well, it is very complicated. I am still imprisoned by the Gwanzulum but not now."

"So, if you are from my future, I must have been successful in finding you."

"Well… time could still be rewritten. You may not find me at all."

"Right, and how do I know that you are the Doctor? You could be one of the Gwanzulum trying to trap me into doing something."

"Good thinking. I can assure you that I am the Doctor, but I will prove it to you. Do you remember the Dalek invasion at your college in Kingston?"

"What are you talking about? There are no Daleks at the school I am at."

"Right… our timelines must be out of sync. We are meeting in the wrong order. Where was your last trip with me?"

"Well, it was your earlier self and you took me to Paraiso, the underground world."

"Whoa, that was a long time ago, well for me anyway."

"Then, you must be the real Doctor. If I have no memory of the Dalek invasion, then the Gwanzulum would not know about it if they were you. What brings you here?"

"I have brought something to help assist you in finding the Gwanzulum. Once you find the Gwanzulum, you will find me. Here is my sonic screwdriver. It is programmed to the right setting. All you have to do is press this button and if it is a high pitched sound, it means the person is a Gwanzulum."

"Thank you!" Nicole said as she took the sonic screwdriver.

"Good luck!" exclaimed the Doctor as he turned around and walked away.

"Any clues you can give me Doctor?"

"Spoilers, Nicole!" said the Doctor as he continued to saunter off.

After he disappeared in the distance Nicole leapt up to her feet feeling invigorated again as she continued her search for the Doctor.

 _I can contact Detective Gordon and see where the other bodies are and hopefully the officers found a connection between the victims. That will lead me one step closer to finding the Doctor_. She took out the card Detective Gordon gave her earlier that evening and dialed his number.

"This is Detective Gordon."

"Hi Detective Gordon. This is Nicole calling. I have a couple questions to ask you about the case that I think will help me in finding the Doctor. When will it be best for me to come down to the station?"

"You can meet me at the station in Toronto tomorrow morning at nine."

"Thank you and I will see you tomorrow."


	5. The Target

The next morning, Nicole took the train down to Toronto to visit Detective Gordon. From the time, she boarded the train to when she entered the police station; she did not notice that an old companion of the Doctor, was following her. Before Nicole entered the police headquarters, she felt someone was watching her. She turned around quickly hoping to catch the stalker off guard, but she wasn't quick enough. All she saw was a woman with red hair and a short skirt disappearing around the corner. Nicole chased after her and as she turned around the corner she could't see any sign of the redhead. _"That woman looked like Amy Pond from the files I have read, but it can't be her. I am losing my mind since there is no way she is in Toronto_.

 **(POV change)**

Amy walked around the corner and went into an abandoned alleyway. She put her fingers on both sides of her head, closed her eyes, and contacted her family. _"My wonderful family, I have made a telepathic link with Nicole. I have access to her memories and she has the key to the TARDIS. Since the Doctor does not have the key on him even after searching him, we should use Nicole as Plan B."_

 _"Go ahead my daughter. Use Nicole as a target, her mind should be much weaker than the Doctor's. She will be easily fooled."_

 _"Thank you for giving me permission, father. This time our attempt at retrieving the TARDIS will succeed. I will make my ancestors proud."_

 _"Remember not to be arrogant. The only reason our species failed last time was one mistake they made. Make sure you are an accurate representation of whoever you wish to be from Nicole's memories. If you speak the wrong thing that the person would not say then Nicole will know who we are."_

A couple seconds later, the Gwanzulum accessed Nicole's memories and changed from Amy Pond to one of Nicole's friends.

 **(POV change)**

Nicole walked up to the front desk at the police station and asked for Detective Gordon. He came down and took her to his office. "How can I help you today?"

"I was wondering if you can tell me where you found the other two bodies."

"I found one in Oshawa and the other one in Whitby."

"Were the two bodies found near Lake Ontario or by another body of water?"

"No, the deaths seem to get closer to Lake Ontario."

"That means the next victim will be somewhere near Lake Ontario."

"We should assign resources to find out who the next victim is."

"I already know who the next victim is and it will be the Doctor if I don't find him. Thank you for providing me the information."

"You're welcome Miss. Hughes."

Nicole walked out of the headquarters and the first person she saw coming towards her was Becca, her friend from the East Coast.

"Becca!"

"Nicole!"

Nicole ran across the street and gave Becca a hug. "It's good to see you, Becca! What brings you here to Toronto from New Brunswick?"

"I came down to surprise you. I was about to head up to Ajax to visit, but here you are. Anything new going on in your life?"

"I have so much to tell you, but better yet I can show you. We have to head back to my place."

They took the train back and Nicole told her everything that has happened since she met the Doctor. Even when they were speaking, there was a nagging thought at the back of Nicole's mind.

 _How does she know my street address? Becca doesn't know my home phone number only my cell number, so she has no way of reaching my parents_. _Although she could have messaged my parents on Facebook for the home address_.

Even with these thoughts, Nicole did not tell her she had a key to the TARDIS. Her intuition was telling her not to reveal this to Becca until she could trust her. After they stopped talking, Becca turned to look out the window. While she was distracted, Nicole put her right hand in her pocket and took out the sonic screwdriver without drawing any attention. She kept the sonic screwdriver low to the ground, so it was out of Becca's sight. Nicole pressed the button, and it gave a low whirring sound. She pointed the screwdriver towards Becca and it emitted a high-pitched warbling sound. Immediately she put the screwdriver away and acted as if nothing happened.

Becca turned around and exclaimed, "What was that?"

"Nothing. Just a passenger whistling back there. I will be right back. Just have to go to the washroom."

Nicole stood up and walked to the washroom as if there was nothing wrong. Thankfully, it was a single washroom. She locked the door behind her and took out the TARDIS key.

 _They can't have both the Doctor and the TARDIS so I will just swallow the key. I hope that it won't cause too much damage to my insides._ Nicole swallowed the key with some water and forced herself not to gag as the key went down her throat. After she swallowed the key, she flushed the toilet in order to appear that she went to the washroom. She opened the door and almost yelped since Becca was standing right in front of her.

"You scared me Becca."

"I am just here to tell you that our stop is next."

"Okay… You could have just told me when I returned to my seat."

Then, they heard a male speaker over the PA system announcing that they have arrived in Ajax.

They got off the train and Becca asked, "Can you show me the TARDIS?"

While they were on their way to the TARDIS, Nicole was figuring out the next step in her plan on how to find the Doctor.


	6. The Plan

They arrived at Nicole's old elementary school and stood in front of the old blue police box. "Well, there it is."

Becca held out her hand. "How about you take out your key and we can look inside?"

Nicole crossed her arms and assessed Becca. "Who says I have a key? Only the Doctor has the key to the TARDIS."

"No, the Doctor does not. He said you would have the key."

Nicole smirked. "Becca, I never told you about a key, and how would you know the Doctor doesn't have the key? Unless you are a Gwanzulum in disguise."

"I realized you found out my secret on the train when you used the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. I played along to fool you so you could lead me to the TARDIS." Becca took out a metal scanner and scanned Nicole's body. It beeped a few seconds later. "Ah ha, the key is in your stomach."

"How would you know that?"

"My scanner has an x-ray built in and detects metal. However, the key is no good where it is. You're coming with me to our shipwreck since I have the technology there to remove it from your digestive system."

"How about you wait until the key completes its cycle?"

"No, it would take too much time although we could always use you to experiment on. We can learn more information about the anatomy of humans."

Becca took out a gun, pointed it straight at Nicole, and said, "Walk on!"

While they were walking on the path towards the lake, Nicole was thinking of what she could do. She only followed along since she knew Becca would lead her to the Doctor. About ten minutes later, they walked across Lakeview Drive to reach Lake Ontario. They were walking alongside the pathway beside the lake when Nicole asked, "Where is this ship of yours?"

"Well, if you look out towards the water to your right, you can see part of the black hatch of our ship. We will have to swim to access it."

"Okay." Before they headed towards the water Nicole saw a washroom up ahead and got an idea. "May I have one request before we head to your ship?"

"Might as well depending on what it is."

"I have to go to the washroom, and don't worry I won't escape. You can point your gun at a person if you want to feel secure that I will keep my word."

Becca thought for a minute and said, "Fine, but be quick since my family is expecting me."

Nicole entered the washroom and locked herself inside a stall. She took out her phone and called the number Sarge gave her when she was on the team for emergencies.

Winnie answered the phone. "This is the Strategic Response Unit. What is your emergency?"

"Hi Winnie. This is Nicole calling. A woman kidnapped me. Is Team One available?"

"Yes, they got back from a call. Here I will patch Sarge through."

"Nicole, I hear you are in an emergency. Where are you located?"

"The woman is taking me out to Lake Ontario in Ajax right near Rotary Park. You can see a black hatch on top of the water so I would be in there. There will be at least two assailants and most likely the Doctor would be down there."

"Okay, but keep your phone on you if they haven't found it. When I call next, it means our team is ready to infiltrate the ship."

"Okay, I have to go or someone will die if I don't come out of the washroom in 30 seconds."

After ending the call, Nicole walked outside, and they headed towards the shore.

Before they swam, Becca held out her hand towards Nicole and said, "Pass me the sonic screwdriver before I forget."

She reluctantly gave her the screwdriver before they headed out towards the ship. Nicole watched Becca put the screwdriver in the right pocket of her jeans and decided to wait for the right moment to get the screwdriver back. The ship was about 1000 metres out so they walked into the cold water and swam towards the hatch. It took them about ten minutes to swim out to the middle of the lake and as they neared the hatch Becca pressed a button on her wristwatch and the black door opened.

They climbed up the ladder and entered the hatch. The metal like walls were lined with many machines with red flashing lights. The lights on the ceiling were flickering and dripping water due to the pressure from being underwater. They walked down the hallway to a large room that looked like a lab. Everything was all white. There was a white bed with arm and leg straps to hold a person down. In addition, there were various equipment around the room, which looked like things a surgeon would use. On the far end were ten poles made of what looked like some sort of electrical energy. There were three poles on the left, three poles on the right, four poles in the front, and four poles in the back, which looked like a cell. In the middle of the prison sitting down was the Doctor looking haggard and tired like the energy was being drained out of him. He smiled when he saw Nicole and his eyes had a glimmer of hope for a small chance of being able to escape.

Nicole ran toward the cage. "Doctor, are you okay?" Nicole took in his worn face and noticed a few wrinkles that weren't there when she saw his future self earlier.

"I'm fine, Nicole. The energy the Gwanzulum are using is draining my lifeforce."

"We'll find a way to fix this."

"Ah, Nicole the Seeker," the Doctor mumbled his eyes closing. Nicole frowned at his comment confused. His mind must be going if his lifeforce is draining. Nicole whirled around and faced Becca who was watching their exchange. "So, what now?"

"We are just going to wait for my father to arrive."

"What about the rest of your family?"

"It is just the two of us since my mother and sister stayed behind on Adeki." Footsteps echoed along the corridor. "Ah, here is my father coming now."


	7. The Rescue

Nicole turned towards the door and saw another form of the Doctor. It was the same Doctor she travelled with before, but reminded herself that he was a Gwanzulum in disguise.

The father said to his daughter, "Well done Tama! Prepare for the surgery and soon we will be successful in taking ownership of the TARDIS."

The daughter forced Nicole to the gurney and prepared a syringe with some type of liquid. The father came over and was about to strap Nicole down when the sound of her cellphone pierced the room.

"What in the world is that sound?" asked the father as he took the phone out of her jean pocket.

"Oh, it must be Tammy calling. She is probably wondering where I am since I was supposed to meet her about half an hour ago. You would have to allow me to answer the phone so I can tell her we can't meet tonight since I have other plans."

The father grumbled, "Fine, but be quick."

Nicole took her phone and said, "Hi Tammy! I am sorry I wasn't able to meet you. I bumped into a friend from the East Coast and time just got away from us."

Sarge replied, "Nicole, I know you can't talk but we are outside the room you are in."

"Okay, can we get together tomorrow?"

"Good, Nicole. How many assailants are there?"

"How about 2:00?"

"You are doing great. I want you to talk to these two people and once you are ready, scratch your head as a signal for us to come in."

"Yes, we can go shopping tomorrow. See you later."

Nicole ended the call, put her phone back in her pocket, and said to Tama's father, "Now since that was taken care of, I guess it is time to resume your duties."

She pretended to lie back down, but before her back touched the gurney, she sprung up and walked towards Tama.

"Get back to the gurney!" shouted Tama while pointing a gun at her.

"Fine, just wanted to stretch my legs," Nicole said while scratching her head.

The door sprung open and smoke filled the room as Team One entered with Ed shouting, "Hands in the air!" As Tama shrieked, Nicole ran towards her and grabbed the sonic screwdriver out of her pocket. Among the chaos, she could see the shadows of Team One pointing their guns at Tama and her father. Tama placed her gun on the ground and put her hands up just like her father was doing.

Nicole ran towards the Doctor and slid the sonic screwdriver through the two bars. "Well, I hope you weren't giving up hope," she said smiling as the Doctor picked up his sonic screwdriver.

"Now, why would I do that? I knew you would come along sometime, but how did you get my sonic screwdriver? The Gwanzulum put mine in a small metallic box in the next room over," said the Doctor as he pointed the sonic screwdriver to a machine at the other side of the room. The screwdriver made a whirring sound, and the machine threw sparks as the electric poles disappeared.

"I can tell you later."

"All right, besides we got business to attend to," said the Doctor as he strode to the father and Tama. "Tanner and Tama! You have violated section 15 of the Shadow Proclamation. When I talked to you earlier, you did not cease hostile action. You killed three people, imprisoned me, and targeted Nicole. You have a choice. You can take this ship back to Adeki and never come back or I will take you there myself."

Tanner replied, "Fine, but our ship does not work anymore. The engines stopped working when we landed in the water."

Ed stepped forward, "Now hold on a sec! These two are under arrest and are under our protection. You have no authority here."

"Oh, you don't want to mess with me Sunshine." The Doctor took a step towards him narrowing his eyes.

"Step away from Ed," shouted Jules while the rest of Team One pointed their guns at the Doctor.

"Do as they say," hissed Nicole. "The last thing we need is for you to get shot." The Doctor took a step back and Nicole stood between Ed and the Doctor.

"What's going on here, Nicole?" Ed said holstering his gun.

Nicole glanced at all of the faces of Team One. They have been through so much together and a part of her wishes she could go back on the team. She caught the Doctor's eyes and he gave her an encouraging smile. She turned back to Ed.

"Alright, Ed. I am going to be honest with you here. We are dealing with an alien situation."

"What do you mean by alien?"

"Extraterrestrial which is why the Doctor here has the authority over these types of affairs. He's like an intergalactic police officer. Protecting those who need protecting. In a way he lives out our motto. Connect, respect, protect. He does this wherever and whenever he travels."

Ed turned to the Doctor, "Am I right to assume you have been protecting the earth from alien attacks these past few years?"

"I have." The Doctor straightened his bow tie as he said this.

"Well, thank you. We will leave you two to finish your business. We can bring you back to shore when you're done." Ed and his team left for the boat while the Doctor and Nicole turned towards Tanner and Tama.

The Doctor said, "Show me the engine room and maybe I can fix it."

Tanner and Tama led the Doctor and Nicole a few doors down where the engine room was. The Doctor fiddled with some wires and pressed a few buttons. He took out his sonic screwdriver to fuse a few wires, pulled down a lever, and all of them heard a faint roar and a vibration indicating that the engines were working.

"Thank you Doctor," said Tanner.

"This ship only has a one-way trip to Adeki so you won't be to return. Let's get going, Nicole."

On the way out, the Doctor stopped by the next room to pick up his sonic screwdriver from the metal box. The two of them clambered onboard the boat with the SRU. As they reached the shore, they said their good-byes. Spike came up to the two of them and shook the Doctor's hand. "It's great to meet you. Never met a real alien before." Just before Spike left, he turned back to the Doctor. "By the way, take care of Nicole. She was an integral part of this team." The Doctor cleared his throat. "I will though she has been the one looking after me."

After the SRU left, Nicole and the Doctor watched the ship take off into space never to be seen again. On the way back to the TARDIS, Nicole questioned, "How do we know the Gwanzulum are still not targeting us?"

"The telepathic link they had to our minds would break due to the amount of distance between us and them. I am feeling like my normal self again since they are not feeding off my life force anymore. Tell me how I gave you my screwdriver."

Both of them exchanged stories of what happened. The Doctor told her how he met the Gwanzulum for the first time when he was the Seventh Doctor. He visited Adeki to go on a fishing trip when the Gwanzulum nearly tricked him into having control over the TARDIS by disguising themselves as the Doctor's old travelling companions and previous selves. Then Nicole told the Doctor how he gave her his sonic screwdriver.

They arrived back at the TARDIS and before the Doctor went in he said, "I better pop off and do a quick visit to your past and give you the screwdriver. You cannot come with me this time since I am travelling back on your timeline. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Okay. I'll be here waiting." About five minutes later, she saw the TARDIS reappearing. The door opened, and the Doctor bounded out smiling.

"So, I guess it is time to say good bye for a brief time. I have to get back to a friend who has been waiting many years for me to return. Needed to give the TARDIS a test run due to my regeneration and thought I would take that opportunity to visit you. The TARDIS should be ready to travel." The Doctor patted the side of his ship.

"You should go," Nicole smiled knowing the person he was referring to from the file she read at Torchwood. "Can I come with you?" Nicole looked longingly at the TARDIS wondering what it would be like to continually travel onboard instead of one trip at a time.

"Oh, Nicole." The Doctor ran a hand through his hair and Nicole slumped her shoulders. "I would love for you to come, but I made a promise to someone to protect you."

Nicole furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Who? Don't tell me it was Spike?"

The Doctor shook his head. "It is someone who you trust the most." "What? You're speaking in riddles."

"Spoilers," said the Doctor with a hint of a smile.

Nicole rolled her eyes and grinned, "Fine. We don't want to break the laws of time. I do have one question. Earlier you mentioned our timelines are out of sync. Does that mean whenever I see the TARDIS, it could be you or any of your previous regenerations?"

"Yes, it will be a surprise whenever you walk into the TARDIS since you don't know who you will find waiting."

"Okay, thanks for the heads up."

As the TARDIS dematerialized, Nicole went home to relax for the evening.


	8. Epilogue

**Hi everyone! Hope you enjoyed the story. The next one is not a crossover and will appear in the Doctor Who section on the website.**

That evening, Nicole texted Becca, " _You won't believe what just happened today."_

 _"What happened?"_

 _"An alien was impersonating you and I thought it was actually you."_

 _"I am laughing so hard right now I don't know what to say. Lol."_

 _"It was pretty freaky."_

 _"Why was the alien impersonating me?"_

 _"It had a telepathic link to my memories and it chose you."_

 _"No way! I can't believe it! I am seriously freaking out right now."_

Nicole heard the house phone ring and heard her Mom calling, "Nicole, the phone is for you!"

"Be right there!" She texted Becca, " _Gotta go since there is someone on the phone waiting to talk to me. Ttyl."_

"Hello?"

"Hi Nicole! This is Iulia calling. Are we still meeting tomorrow at my house at 1:00 before heading over to visit our old high school?"

"Yes, I am looking forward to it. See you tomorrow!"

The next day, Nicole left her house at 12:40 to bike over to Iulia's house. After arriving at her house, she parked her bike, and knocked on the door. "Hey Iulia. Are you ready to head out?"

"I'll just be a minute. Come inside!" After she grabbed a couple of things and placed it in a bag, they biked over to Ajax High School. After locking their bikes, they entered the front doors of the high school. They turned to the left and entered a room where the administration desk was.

"Hello," Nicole said to the secretary, "My name is Nicole, and this is Iulia. We used to attend this school and we are here to visit our old history teacher, Mr. Gauci. Do you know where his classroom is?"

"His classroom is still right across from the art room. Do you remember where that is?"

"Yes, it is the same classroom where we had our Ancient History class. Thank you." Iulia and Nicole walked down the hallway and passed other classes and lockers before arriving to Mr. Gauci's classroom. They knocked on the door and Mr. Gauci turned towards them from erasing the chalkboard.

He smiled at them and said, "Good afternoon Iulia and Nicole. It is good for you to stop by." For the next fifteen minutes, they talked about what they were doing in school and good memories from history class. Then, Nicole talked about what they did in class when they learned about WWII. After talking for about 30 seconds, Mr. Gauci and Iulia gave her a strange look.

Nicole stopped speaking and asked, "Is something wrong?"

Mr. Gauci replied, "We did not discuss WWII since there is no such event. We had WWI, but hopefully we will not experience WWII."

"Then how can I have clear memories of what I have learned in history class about this subject?" Then, the memories Nicole had about learning WWII in school disappeared as if it never existed. "Sorry," she said, "I am exhausted. You are right, Mr. Gauci. There was no such thing as WWII."

 **Next time on The Adventures with the Doctor...** "Is she the one the boss wants?" The man in front of her brought out a small scanner. After reading the results on the screen, he smiled and said, "She is the human time traveler the boss wants. Bring her to the vehicle." Nicole finally fell unconscious wondering what her parents would do if they did not find her the next morning..."Don't come near me. I have been infected with whatever they have injected me. I don't want to infect you." "They must be testing a virus, but why would they distribute it among human beings?"...While Dr. Peabody took Nicole out of the machine, Dr. Montgomery paged the Doctor over the P.A. system. "Doctor to lab 4 for an inquiry! Doctor to lab 4!"...He yelled, "What have you done to Nicole?" The Doctor pinned Dr. Peabody against the wall. "Where's the cure? I am giving you one chance since my patience is running very low!"


End file.
